Comic-Cons of the Future will be Bigger, Maybe Not at Comic-Con

In a recent interview, Comic-Con International's David Glanzer suggested that moving some exhibitors off-site could help Comic-Cons in future.

This year's Comic-Con is still visible in the grand rear view mirror of our hearts, but some people are already thinking about Comic-Con 2014. Amongst them, David Glanzer, the director of marketing and public relations for Comic-Con International, who wants you to know: He's very aware of how hard it is to walk from one end of the main floor to the other.

Talking to comic book industry site ICv2, Glanzer said that Comic-Con organizers are "still working on trying to see what works best" in terms of foot traffic at the show, adding that "it’s really difficult when you have ‘X’ amount of floor space and more people who want to occupy it than you really have space for."

"The primary thing is safety," he continued, "so we really try to move people around to make it as convenient or as non-congested as we can. It’s impossible on this floor, but everything we can do to that end we’re still going to try."

One of the things that may have eased traffic slightly this year, Glanzer suggested, was Xbox exhibiting outside of the main convention. "It may be that eventually, if people start going over there and realizing that’s a great anchor, we may be able to move some other stuff from the convention center to area hotels, like we have in the past with the film festival, the Eisner Awards, things of that nature," he said. "And then that will leave us more room for different kinds of other uses, be that comics programming or other different types of programming."

Of course, the idea of off-site programming has been gaining support with every year; at this year's con, there were both the comic book Tr!ckster and Felicia Day's Geek and Sundry hubs for off-site programming, in addition to PetCo Park's Walking Dead Escape and other attractions close to the main show.

Even if that doesn't increase in future years, however, it doesn't mean that the show won't grow -- There's always the planned expansion of the convention center itself, which may cause problems for the mammoth Hall H lines in future. "As we understand it (and again, plans could have changed since I saw them last) [the expansion] would be behind the convention center," Glanzer said. "So where Hall H is, there’s a park out there, just south of Hall H, and then behind it is a parking lot, and my understanding is that it would be around that area."

But wait -- if the extension goes there, then where will people wait out for days in order to see their favorite movie stars? Maybe we need a second extension, only this one can have some beds and comfortable seating. You know, just in case.